1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a console box for a vehicle. More particularly, it relates to a cup holder of a console box for a vehicle, which is installed at the rear of the console box such that a rear seat passenger can place a container such as a cup, etc., in the cup holder.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, various convenient facilities are provided in the interior of a vehicle for the convenience of a driver and a passenger. The convenient facilities typically include a console box in which various articles are stored, an armrest on which a user's arm is placed, a cup holder in which a drink container such as a can, bottle, cup, etc., is stored.
Among them, the console box is installed between a driver's seat and a front passenger's seat to provide a storage space in which various documents and tools required for driving are stored, and a console armrest on which the driver can rest his or her arm during driving is typically provided on the console box.
The console armrest supports the driver's elbow to assist the driver to drive while seated in a comfortable position and is installed at the top of the console box to cover the storage space of the console box.
Here, the rear end of the console armrest is hinge-connected to an upper rear of the console box such that the console armrest can be rotated up and down with respect to a hinge connection portion at the rear end when the storage space of the console box is opened and closed.
Moreover, a typical cup holder is installed on an instrument panel in front of the driver's seat and the front passenger's seat, on a tray in front of the console box between the driver's seat and the front passenger's seat, etc., such that the driver and the front passenger can store various drink containers such as cans, bottles, cups, etc.
Meanwhile, a rear cup holder provided to be used by a rear seat passenger is installed on the back of a front seat, on a door trim, or on the back of the console box.
Among them, a conventional cup holder installed on the back of the console box is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
As shown in the figures, a cup holder 11 is installed on the back a console box 10 to the rear of a console armrest 13.
Here, a lower end of the cup holder 11 is hinge-connected to a rear end of the console box 10 such that the cup holder 11 is rotated with respect to a hinge connection portion 12 with the console box 10, and thus the storage space is opened and closed.
During use, the rear seat passenger rotates the cup holder 11 downward (in the clockwise direction in the figures) with respect to the hinge connection portion 12 such that the cup holder 11 is opened backward from the back of the console box 10 and then places a drink container 1 in the storage space of the cup holder 11.
However, the above-described conventional cup holder has the following problems.
The cup holder 11 is disposed at the rear of the console armrest 13 on the console box 10 and, as shown in FIG. 2, the entire cup holder 11 is located at the rear of the hinge connection portion 12 of the console armrest 13 regardless of opened and closed states (the position of the hinge connection portion of the console armrest is labeled “B” in FIG. 2).
In this conventional structure, the console box 10 should extend backward to provide the installation space and storage space of the cup holder 11 and, as a result, the console box 10 and the cup holder 11 protrude excessively from the back of the front seat (i.e., the driver's seat and the front passenger's seat) to the rear.
In particular, when the cup holder 11 being located at the rear of the hinge connection portion of the console armrest 13 is not used, the entire cup holder 11 should be pushed into the rear space of the console box 10, and thus the console box 10 itself should protrude significantly from the back of the front seat.
Moreover, since the cup holder 11 is drawn backward during use, the cup holder 11 protrudes further to the rear (i.e., the distance between the cup holder and the rear seat is further reduced), and thus the rear seat passenger's legs are restrained by the cup holder 11, thereby significantly reducing the comfort of the passenger.
As such, when the console box 10 and the cup holder 11 protrude excessively from the back of the front seat, the convenience and comfort of the rear seat passenger may be reduced.
Moreover, during use, the cup holder 11 should ensure a sufficient height, and thus the region “A” of FIG. 2 should be elongated in the conventional structure. Given the position of the hinge connection portion of the console armrest, if the region “A” is elongated, the amount of backward protrusion of the console box 10 and the cup holder should be further increased.
Furthermore, when the utilization of the rear seat is high and the smoking rate at the rear seat is high, a container 1 such as a cup, portable ashtray, etc., is frequently placed in the cup holder 11, and thus the excessive protrusion of the console box 10 and the cup holder 11 may make the passenger feel inconvenient, which needs to be improved.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.